Kerala Tourist Inflow On An Upswing

Going by the half-yearly statistics released by Kerala Tourism, tourism inflow to the state, both domestic and foreign have shown remarkable increase, which is a clear indication of the growing popularity of Kerala as the favourite destination among all type of tourists.

There has been a significant increase in the arrival of both foreign and domestic tourists to Kerala during the first half (Jan - Jun) of 2003, when compared to the same period in 2002. The figures for the first half of 2003 showed foreign tourists arrival at 1,44,482 as compared to 1,13,223, last year. In the case of domestic tourists, half-yearly figures stand at 28,58,769 in 2003 as against 26,84,756, last year. The half-yearly statistics given above clearly show an increase of 27.61 per cent in 2003 as compared to 2002, while the domestic tourist arrival registered an increase of 6.48 per cent when compared to the same period in 2002.

Among the districts, that received maximum number of foreign tourists, both during peak season and off-season, the districts of Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam leads the table, followed by Idukki and Kottayam. This situation with regards to domestic tourist arrival has the district of Thrissur in the lead, followed by Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram.

The arrival of foreign tourists showed an impressive increase in the first half of 2003 as compared to the same period in 2002. Besides the countries that usually have their tourists visiting Kerala, the first half of the current year witnessed an increase in visitors from some European countries like Yugoslavia (2276.9 per cent), Italy (37.8 per cent), Netherlands (35.39 per cent), Russia (286.06 per cent), and Austria (52.75 per cent). From North America, Mexican tourist arrival showed a remarkable increase of 324 per cent, South Africa with 52.8 per cent, Iran with 91.9 per cent, Phillipines with 145 per cent and the neighbouring Nepal with 114.4 per cent.

From the Middle-East, a significant increase in visitors have been registered from a number of countries. Namely Qatar (1485 per cent), Oman (50.6 per cent), Bahrain (613.7 per cent), Kuwait (43.5 per cent), Saudi Arabia (723.23 per cent) and Israel (181.6 per cent)

In spite of new entrants flocking the tourism domain of Kerala; visitors from countries that Kerala usually host registered further increase. This is evident in the case of United Kingdom (8.64 per cent), France (22.8 per cent), Germany (18.6 per cent), Switzerland (36.3 per cent), Italy (37.8 per cent), Australia (36.7 per cent), Japan (42.1 per cent), Canada (48.5 per cent), and Sweden (45.3 per cent).